Anne grew up in a small North Yorkshire village with the freedom to roam and explore fields, countryside lanes and riverbanks, as she observed wildflowers, animals, birds and the blue-turquoise flash of damselflies hovering over ponds.
She was intrigued by the dyed microscopic cell structures of her father’s botanical slides and watching her mother select colours, forms and textures of flowers and foliage for her arrangements.
From childhood, Anne was fascinated with painting; as a teenager she appeared on Thames Television’s ‘Magpie’ with a winning stained glass Madonna and Child painting. She studied Art at College; she was introduced to botanical watercolours at a painting course at R.H.S. Harlow Carr, Harrogate and for over eight years, her enthusiasm was in cultivating and painting the intricate detail and variety of impressive plants and flowers like the Globe Artichoke, Himalayan Lily and Amaryllis.
In the Dales, her creative energy absorbs her in painting wildlife and wildflowers in their natural environments. She wrote and illustrated a children’s book “Twitchy Mouse,’ an adventure at Gayle Mill near Hawes.
‘Discovering tranquility in the countryside, I enjoy catching glimpses of animals, birds and insects as they scurry or fly away from my camera. Their alertness inspires me to capture a feeling of life in my vibrant watercolour washes which interact, to create atmosphere and textures, directional brushstrokes give an illusion of movement. Pen and ink details and hints of definition add liveliness, areas are left for your imagination - an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of nature.’